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US Conducts Precision Airstrike in Libya

by Carla Babb

   PENTAGON --

   A U.S. airstrike in Libya has killed 11 al-Qaida terrorists, the
   military said Friday.

   U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said the strike Thursday near al-Uwaynat
   also destroyed three vehicles of the group al-Qaida in the Islamic
   Maghreb (AQIM).

   The military said no civilians were killed or injured.

   "AFRICOM will use precision strikes to deny terrorists safe haven in
   Libya '¦ and they remain vulnerable wherever they are," U.S. Marine
   Corps Maj. Gen. Gregg P. Olson, AFRICOM's director of operations, said
   in a press release.

   This is the third U.S. strike against AQIM in Libya. The last
   counter-AQIM strike killed one terrorist in June.

   Carla is VOA's Pentagon correspondent covering defense and
   international security issues. Her datelines include Ukraine, Turkey,
   Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Korea.